The Belle of Notre Dame
by Punzie the Platypus
Summary: God bless you! Have you ever wondered why Belle was walking around in Paris on the sixth of January, also known as Topsy Turvy Day? When she and the arrogant Gaston go to Paris, Belle gets to experience the atmosphere and the bells of Notre Dame. God bless you!
1. An Escort Introduces Himself

**DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Beauty and the Beast or the Hunchback of Notre Dame. Now, this idea came to me when I saw THoND, LOVED it by the way, and I saw Belle walking through the streets, reading to herself during 'Out There.' I started thinking, (a dangerous pastime, I know), the wheels in my head had been turning, ever since I saw her reading that book, now I've decided to do a story about her, and now why don't you take a look!**

Belle, usually very composed when she walked through town, nearly knocked over three fruit stands, a cart full of bags of flour and six pedestrians as she ran through the square. This winter had been rather mild, but the streets were still icey, causing her to bump into everything and everyone. She constantly found herself apologizing to the townspeople as she clasped her book against her dress. The book, after all, was the reason she was running amuck.

The girl dodged a flock of flying ducks before bumping into their herder, who was a very grumpy old man. He took out the piece of straw he had in his mouth and rubbed the fluffy part around in her face in annoyance, causing the teen to start coughing. The herder had a goose, probably the male, on the end of a rope, like a leash. The gander squawked at Belle and added his two cents of anger.

"Oh, excuse me! Oh!" Belle gasped as she tried to brush away the piece of hay. "Please stop that!"

"What I want you to know is that you need to stop that!" the herder yelled at her. He did, however stop poking her with the piece of straw, much to her relief. Belle straightened herself up and blew a lock of hair that had fallen out of her ponytail out of her face as the mad man continued with his tirade, "Stop it with your running! You know how many people's days you're a-ruinin'?"

Belle had been trying to stay calm at the angered man, but her temper was growing shorter and shorter as she told him, "I was just trying to get to the book shop before it -"

"And you with your books! Always walking around town, head stuck in it and nary taking the time to watch where you're going! You're making everyone else in town having to watch out for themselves and YOU!" he pointed a finger at her face. She gently swatted it away.

"If you'll excuse me, you're holding me up when I need to get to the book shop," Belle articulated to him firmly. She straightened, for she had to bend down to the fuming man's short height, and tightened her shawl and started toward the book shop in a more orderly fashion. The herder scoffed and turned to the gander, who himself was fuming, "Women." The gander turned to his master and rolled his eyes.

Belle rapidly walked to the book shop, giggling to herself as she hugged her book. The bounded book that she was carrying was one of her very favorites. It had been a series of fairytales gathered by two brothers by the name of Grimm, and she had just heard from a couple down the road that there was a second edition to her favorite book. Of course, she had run home with her purchases, thrown them into the kitchen and had started racing to the bookshop.

She rounded a corner and the little shop came into view. She smiled and picked up a bit of her skirt as she ran (SO unladylike), to the front door. It was to her dismay to see the bookkeeper taking the key to the shop from his coat pocket and inserting it into the lock and turning it.

Belle caught her breath as she skidded to a halt in front of the old man.

"Belle! Belle! Are you all right?" the bookkeeper laughed as he held her straighten up. "What happened?"

"Oh, please, Mr. Livre, do you have the sequel to Grimms' fairytales?" Belle hurriedly pushed her book at the man, who adjusted his spectacles and examined the book carefully.

"Oh, the Grimms Brothers!" he smiled. Belle grinned as she replied, "It's one of my favorites!"

"Aw, I'm sorry, Belle," the old man sighed. He handed her back the book and re-adjusted his spectacles again as he explained, "I ordered them, but they're not coming for a month."

"A month!" Belle whispered in a horrified voice. She had to wait a whole month to read the next edition? She could hardly keep her thoughts straight as Mr. Livre sighed and patted the girl on the back.

"I'm awfully sorry, Belle, but they're all the way over in Paris, and I can't go get them until next month."

A bright idea came in the witty girl's brain and she asked him excitedly, "Wait, what if I go get the books from Paris?"

The man thought thoughtfully to himself as he rubbed his chin. Belle could hardly speak when he said, "Well, maybe. . ."

"Okay!" Belle said excitedly. She could barely contain her excitement; she was going to get to read the new book!

"But, you'd need a wagon, and everybody knows that your father blew up his last one," Mr. Livre pointed out.

"So I'll borrow a wagon, that's fine!" Belle defended her case.

"But, but Paris is huge!" he held up his hands and spread them wide apart in emphasis. "You can't go there alone!"

"And that's why _I'll _be taking her!" An arrogant voice told the man. Belle groaned as a brawny arm wrapped around her shoulders and squeezed her tightly. "No need to worry about her."

Belle shoved the arms of the town's local celebrity, Gaston, off of her shoulder in a huff. The man was the only person who could really get her irritated. His proud face spied her slipping away from him and he shoved her toward him by wrapping his arm around her again.

"I have a wagon AND I'll take care of her when she's in Paris," he continued. The storekeeper's face brightened as he wiped his spectacles with a handkerchief, "Why, that will do nicely." When Belle looked up at Gaston with a pained face, Mr. Livre smiled at the girl and told her, "And when you come back, you can keep one of the books."

Belle's face brightened at the prospect and said, "Alright."

"Here, let me get you a map and address," the man fumbled around in his coat pockets while Gaston leaned in on Belle and whispered in her ear, "Belle, we're going to Paris, the city of love!" Belle's eyes widened at the man's boldness and retorted, "I thought it was the city of lights?"

"Can't it be both?" Gaston challenged her. Belle rolled her eyes and ducked out of his arms again. He smirked at her and asked her, "I'll see you tomorrow, then?"

Belle hugged her book tighter and answered, "Bright and early."

"Early? Why not after I get up, around ten?" Gaston made his eyebrows go up and down to try to intrigue her.

Belle thankfully took the papers from the bookkeeper, who tipped his hat and walked off to his own house, and she shoved the papers at Gaston.

"You're the one driving, here's your directions," Belle acknowledged him. She turned on her heel and yelled back at him, "I'll see you at six!"

"SIX? Outrageous, nobody gets up at six!" Gaston yelled back at her. Belle answered him with a flick of her hand and called over her shoulder, "I do!"

Gaston folded his arms and grumbled to himself. LeFou crawled out of the snowbank that Gaston had shoved him into when he had noticed Belle and trotted over to the larger man. He clapped his hands together excitedly, "Wow! That was great, Gaston! Your brilliant plan worked, Gaston! Couldn't have done it better myself, Gaston!"

"Of course you couldn't have, LeFou, you'd have to be me to be able to do that," Gaston smirked. He grabbed the smaller pig nosed man by the collar and brought him to his face. He whispered into LeFou's ears, "Now, LeFou, part one in plan 'Courting Belle' is complete! Now," he put down LeFou and punched him on the back, "let's get a drink to celebrate MY victory!"

"Oh, yeah, sure, Gaston! Hey, am I going to Paris too?" LeFou asked the giant. Gaston slammed his beefy hand against LeFou's back and chuckled, "Of course not, LeFou!"

"Why, why not?" LeFou wondered. Gaston sighed and answered, "LeFou, when a man and a woman go courting, they are not accompanied by the village idiot!"

"Oh, oh, of course, Gaston!" LeFou babbled idiotically. He then stopped for a moment and asked, "What did he just call me?"

"Come on, LeFou, beer awaits us!" Gaston yelled.

* * *

That evening, a light snow blew about the house of the inventor. Inside, however, the small cottage was warm and cozy, lit up by a crackling and friendly fire. Maurice, Belle's father, straightened up in his comfy chair and blew his pipe. Belle added another piece of wood to the fire and poured the tea.

"Well, it sounds like a fine plan!" Maurice said to Belle cheerfully. She smiled at him and handed him his cup of tea. He stirred the liquid with a spoon and asked Belle, "Can I have the sugar?"

Belle smiled as she handed it to him and she sat back in her seat, "I guess so." She turned to the fire and sighed, propping her head on her hand. Maurice noticed his daughter sigh, and once he had added his sixth sugar cube to his cup, he asked her worriedly, "What's wrong, Belle?"

"Oh, Gaston is coming along and he's the biggest airhead in town!" Belle scowled. She raised her hand and counted off her fingers, "And, and he's rude, and self-centered..."

"Belle!" Maurice hushed her gently. She smiled softly at him and blew the hair out of her face as she said, "I just hope he doesn't ruin this trip."

"Oh, don't worry, he won't," Maurice reassured her.

"What if he won't?" Belle challenged him.

"Just ignore him. The trip's not about him, it's about the book. Think about the book and not about Gaston acting like Gaston," Maurice explained.

"Do you really think so?" Belle said hopefully. Maurice nodded and she got up from her chair and wrapped her arms around her father. Maurice smiled at her and patted her back. The clock over the mantle struck nine, and Maurice gently pushed her away and said, "You'd best get to bed."

"Yeah, going at six should be great," Belle laughed. She stooped and picked up her Grimms' Fairytale book from the coffee table and went to the staircase. She leaned over the railing and called back at the inventor, "Good night, Papa!"

"Good night, Belle," Maurice told her, and she smiled to herself as she carefully walked through the hallway to her bedroom. Opening the door quietly, she placed the book on her nightstand and went over to the mirror over her dresser. She carefully took her hair out of her ponytail and rummaged through her drawers to find her brush. She started to brush her brunette hair and sighed softly to herself. She hoped that Gaston could and would really come for her at six.

**The Grimms' fairytales didn't come out until 1812 and the timeline for Beauty and the Beast and The Hunchback of Notre Dame are way different, but I thought that it would be a nice touch for Belle to read those fairytales. Don't worry, Paris is coming up next, and I hope that you enjoyed!**


	2. YAY! ROAD TRIP!

**DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Beauty and the Beast or The Hunchback of Notre Dame. I haven't seen Beauty and the Beast in months, because my sister and I have been waiting for the perfect rainy day, (we're literally waiting for a rainy day) and this Thursday might bring us some showers. *Rubs hands together happily*  
**

The rooster on the wooden gate by the animal pen straightened his red feathers and stood erect on the post. Cracking his neck, he inhaled deeply and crowed loudly. His crow echoed throughout the small farm all the way to Belle's window.

The teen smiled at the rooster's crowing and instantly sat up in bed, causing the pillows and blankets that she had been hiding under for the past eight hours to fall off of her and onto the floor. Belle yawned loudly and swung her bare feet onto the floor. The cold floorboards instantly caused her to give a little squeak, and her quick feet found her slippers and they quickly hid themselves in the warm leather.

Belle stretched her arms and looked around her bedroom. Grabbing her bathrobe that was on her bed post, she slipped it on and hummed to herself as she grabbed her hairbrush and ran it carefully through her brown hair. She was determined not to let Gaston annoy her today.

"Ninety-eight, ninety-nine, one hundred!" Belle smiled. She grabbed a bit of ribbon and with skillful finger wrapped her hair into a ponytail. Patting the bow happily, she threw off her nightgown and buttoned up the white buttons of her favorite white blouse. Belle fumbled around with her blue jumper and when she finally straightened it out, she put on white stockings and her shoes.

Smiling confidently at herself in her mirror, she crossed the room to her window. She unlocked the window and shoved it up over her head. Belle stuck her head out to spy, the darkness of the night still covering the farm.

Belle stuck her head out and said brightly, "Well, I'd say it's kind of warm out." She stuck her hand out to make sure, and surely enough, she could feel the droplets of melting snow falling from the room. With a quick nod, she rubbed her hands together and said, "Hopefully, the roads won't be too bad."

She could hear the animals moaning and groaning, annoyed, at the red rooster, who Belle had unashamedly taught to wake her up at such an hour. Belle rolled her eyes at their moodiness and she closed the window with a bang.

Clutching her Grimms book, she ran lightly down the stairs and to the fire. Belle grabbed a match from the mantle and lit a candle, for it was dark downstairs, and searched for the poker. She found the metal thing and poked the smoldering embers from last night's fire and added a few logs. With one final stoke of the flames, she crossed the room and used the candle to light all the lights in the room.

Belle busily grabbed a basket from a shelf in the kitchen and filled it with bread, cheese and some apples and oranges. It was a bit early to eat anything and they would get something for lunch at Paris, so Belle packed all this for the road.

She warmed water for her father's tea and grabbed her feed basket and ran outside. It had gotten a bit warmer, to Belle's delight, and the sun was barely starting to peek over the horizon. Belle ran around the house to the animals and set to work. She fed and watered them all, collecting the two eggs and the bit of milk that the cows were still giving.

After she had taken all this inside, Belle put everything in its proper place and checked the clock over the mantle. Seeing how it was nearly six, Belle grabbed the small bag of francs that the bookkeeper had given her for the books yesterday (she wouldn't let Gaston have THAT to hold), and her hooded shawl. Carefully hiding her brunette hair under her hood, she opened the front door and peeked out.

She noticed a cart slowly creaking its way toward her home. The cart bounced and jumped on the bumpy and rocky road, causing Gaston, who was driving, to mutter annoyed curses to himself.

He drove up to the front door of her house, smacking the horse up the side of its head, and then acknowledged Belle with a suave smile as he stopped the horse.

"Morning, Belle. Ready to go?" he asked. His eyebrows went up and down in hope for her to blush at the sight, but instead she brightened and put on a cheery smile. "Of course, Gaston!"

"Well, let's get going then!" he said. Gaston patted a seat beside him. She placed her basket on the crook of her left arm that was also holding the book, and she offered him her right hand. Gaston looked at her curiously and Belle said, "Can you help me up, please?"

"Oh, yeah! Of course, Belle," Gaston answered suavely. He grabbed her small wrist and hoisted her up roughly. Belle gasped and tried to find her footing on the thin wood, but only succeeded in having Gaston give her a nudge on her back. She instantly stiffened and she quickly sat down and covered herself with her hood. Belle then exhaled, causing a lock of hair from her ponytail to fall into her face. When she gently pushed it back behind her eye, she noticed out of the corner of her eye that Gaston was watching her.

Belle instantly seized and straightened up and asked hurriedly, "What are you doing?"

"Oh, nothing," Gaston grinned creepily, "just watching _you._" The way he said 'you' made shivers crawl up and down Belle's spine. He may be the best and most popular hunter in her poor, provincial town, but to Belle he was acting a bit weird.

Belle pushed back her hood to see better as Gaston led the horse and cart around a turn to go through town. It had gotten a bit brighter, so Belle was able to see the tired and yawning faces of the local town's people. The baker was carting a load of flour to his bakery and the blacksmith was busy increasing the heat in his forge with a poker. It was a Wednesday, market day, so all the farmers and their wives were gathering around the market area with their produce and such.

A few hundred feet from the entrance into town, Gaston flicked the reins even harder on the horse, causing it to start to gallop. Gaston was not about to miss this fine opportunity to appear before practically the entire town with the prettiest girl riding in his cart with him. This grand entrance would surely get their attention.

Belle was almost blown to the back of the cart. The only thing that was saving her was her firm grip on the side of the cart. Her ponytail's ribbon had fallen out, causing her hair to wave violently in the wind. She tried to hold her hair out of her face the best she could while she yelled at Gaston, "This is dangerous!"

"Yeah, but it's fun! Live a little!" the brute man laughed. Belle rolled her eyes at that.

Gaston was gritting his teeth into a fierce grin and Belle gave a slight scream when the horse pulled into the marketplace. Gaston tightened his hold on the worn reins and pulled sharply, causing the horse to try to plant his hooves against the ground. Belle closed her eyes and gulped.

The cart screeched to a squeaky halt and the horse let out a breath, panting violently. Belle fell back at the abrupt stop and hastened to assemble herself when she saw the crowd gathering.

A farmer with a straw hat and a piece of hay in his mouth approached Gaston and asked timidly, "Say, where are you going this early, Gaston?"

"Well, farmer man," Gaston puffed out his chest proudly as he reached out his arm and grabbed Belle's shoulder and held her against him as he continued, "Belle and I here are going to Paris for the Feast of Fools." Belle's face reddened deeply as she shoved off Gaston's arm. The whole crowd ohed and awed.

"Don't you know that those roads are muddy because of the melting snow?" the farmer asked Gaston. Gaston exhaled like a horse, making Belle shield herself from his stray spit, and he replied, "Some watery snow can't keep us away from the Feast of Fools!"

"Wait a minute, Gaston, we're going to Paris to-" Belle tried to interrupt when Gaston hastily put a hand over her mouth to hush her. Belle could barely make out a word he was saying because she was trying to shove off his hand. It smelled nasty from holding the horse's reins, and it was strong against her own lips. She screwed her face up into the best scowl she could make without her lips and tried to pry off his hand.

"...and so we'll be back after dark, not that driving in the dark is a bad thing, right Belle?" Gaston smiled at her. He used his hand to make her nod, only adding more kindling to her internal fury.

"Well, have a safe trip, then," the farmer smiled.

"Will do!" Gaston yelled and he finally released his hand in order to grab both of the reins. Belle lost no time in shouting, "Gaston, you little-"

"See ya!" Gaston shouted and the horse immediately started to gallop again. Belle stopped talking in order to pay attention to holding on for her life.

They were nearly a half mile out of the town when Gaston finally let his grip on the reins grow slack, and the horse panted heavily from his effort.

Belle had her arms folded and her usually level temper was growing shorter and shorter as she turned to Gaston and yelled, "Why did you do that? We're going to Paris to collect the books, not to go to that festival!"

"I should have you know that that is the biggest festival of the year in Paris, and we are going to it," Gaston told her.

"What? If that the only reason you wanted to escort me, you wanted to bring me to the festival?" Belle asked. loudly. Her brown eyes were flashing anger and she waved her hands around wildly.

"No!" Gaston quickly answered. He reached out his arm and wrapped it around Belle protectively as he said, "I came along to be with you!"

Belle gasped, a bit taken back by him, and shoved him off again, (would he stop TOUCHING me! she thought to herself) and yelled, "Me? You wanted to be with me? If you just wanted to be with me, why didn't you tell me instead of making me look bad in front of everyone?"

"I did not!" Gaston counteracted.

Belle knew that he did, of course. Whenever he was with a girl like that in front of people, he'd do all the talking. "You did too! Oh, Gaston," Belle wiped the hair out of her face and heaved a little sigh, "This is not going the way I thought it would."

"Alright, so we'll make the day better. We go get your stupid books and then we can enjoy the festival!"

Belle instantly straightened and retorted, "Those books are not stupid!"

"Oh, come on, Belle. Such a pretty lady such as yourself shouldn't read those books! They're stupid!"

"They are not stupid! They're full of wonderful stories with great detailing and beautiful morals-"

"Oh, come on, Belle. Get your head out of the clouds and start thinking of real stuff," Gaston said loudly. He made his eyebrows go back up and down and added, "Like marriage."

"Marriage?" Belle asked, surprised. She was getting a bit old, she knew, and Papa probably wanted her to get settled down soon, but why was she talking about this with Gaston...Belle instantly stiffened. Was he, implying marriage with her?

"Marriage? Gaston, why did you bring this up?"

"Oh, you know, people might think we're getting married," Gaston answered back casually.

Belle instantly reddened and asked, slightly horrified at the idea, "Why would they think that?"

"Oh, come on, Belle. We go through town, together, in a horse and cart," Gaston laughed. Belle looked at him, slightly perplexed. What the...? She was just going with Gaston to pick up books in Paris and now they were talking about getting married!

"Oh, don't look so shocked, Belle. We're the perfect couple!"

"Perfect couple!" Belle found her voice and her voice was annoyed and angry, "by making me look humiliated like that? Gaston!"

"Yes?"

"UGH! GASTON!" Belle yelled angrily. She wore a nasty snarl as she tugged her hood over head, covering the majority of her face. She folded her arms around her book protectively and wallowed in her anger. How dare, HOW DARE he think of that! Her, him! THE NERVE! She had thought he was just a man who liked flirting with women at first, but now, he was acting serious about this! Her, Belle, with him, Gaston! She was so angry at him she forgot about the books.

She was a person who didn't judge a book by its cover, that was why she decided to go with Gaston because he had SEEMED like a nice guy, but oh no, he was after her! And he didn't even like her enough to not humiliate her! Belle could officially put him down as a person she'd rather avoid.

* * *

The sun was nearly at the middle of the sky, making Belle think that it was around half past ten. They had eaten some of the food in silence (well, Gaston didn't. He spoke about nothing in particular and made spit cover everything around him while he ate), and the cold had been driven out, replaced with a slightly cool, almost warm wind. Belle carefully lowered her hood and felt the cool wind against her sweaty skin. She slipped off the whole shawl and re-tied the blue ribbon that she had retrieved from the back seat around her hair.

While she fixed her bow, she said to Gaston, "How much longer?"

"About five minutes," he said slowly. She rolled her eyes at his tone and replied, "Alright then." She tossed back her hair and straightened her skirt. Gaston slightly turned his head to catch a look at her and she slowly turned her head at him and asked slowly, "What?"

"You look nice. That's all."

His compliment caught Belle off surprise and despite herself, she blushed. "Thank you," she mumbled.

They traversed on to the bank of the Seine, allowing the horse, who Belle had secretly named LaRuce, to drink. Gaston jumped down from the cart and cupped his hands together and filled them with water. Once he had some, he splashed it around his face. Belle straightened up as he climbed back in, water dripping down from his face, and they proceeded to cross the bridge. Belle took in a deep breath and sighed. After a few hours, she had collected her thoughts and now she decided to ignore his romantic attempts and just to treat him as a friend. Hopefully, he'd get the message.

Gaston, though he was a reckless driver, was skillful in keeping the horse steady as they crossed the long bridge. Belle eagerly sat on the edge of her seat. Up ahead was the city of Paris, home to the collection of books she was to get and home to the bells of Notre Dame.

"Hey, Gaston, can we see the bells of Notre Dame?" Belle asked Gaston eagerly. She could hardly keep her excitement from exploding when he replied, "Sure." She was going to see the bells! She could hardly wait.

**Off to watch The Little Mermaid. Please review!**


	3. The Streets of Paris

**DISCLAIMER****: I do NOT own Beauty and the Beast or The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Now, did anyone besides me freak out when Disney announced that the Tangled short was going to be showed in theaters with Beauty and the Beast in 3D? ! *Faints from the awesomeness* You'll see me at the theater in January. **

Gaston led the creaky wagon across the bridge that was over the Seine into the large city of Paris. Belle tucked a stray bit of hair behind her ear as she leaned out of the wagon's side in amazement. Having never been in such a large city, compared to her little village, this place was HUMONGOUS!

They passed large houses, loaded down with heavy architecture and skillfully added details. Beneath and above the many windows that the large houses boasted, there was strips of woods hammered on in such a way to add criss-crosses over the firm structure. Overhead, the joyous noises of ringing bells started to chime loudly, calling out to the people of Paris to be merry.

LaRuce's hooves clip-clopped down the stone streets as the three neared the middle of the square. Overcome with excitement and amazement, Belle could only watch with a happy smile at the activity in the square. People buzzed about, carrying boxes and bags of assorted what-nots around the square. Men and women bounced around in the funniest clothing, sporting jester-like hats, multi-colored clothes and large clunky shoes.

Belle frowned slightly as she pondered why the people of the such sophisticated looking Paris looked so funny. She leaned back to think about it when Gaston leaned back against the cart's seat, dropping the reins and folding his arms behind his head to use as a pillow, "Ahh! The Feast of Fools! Starts soon, Belle!"

Belle could hardly hear him do to the fact that she was scrambling to catch hold of the reins. LaRuce had started to trot quickly, and she didn't need a person from the merry looking crowd to get run over. Hastily catching them, she drew them close and gasped, "Can we get the books first, Gaston? This looks like it hasn't begun yet."

"Ahhh," Gaston yawned loudly as he dramatically waved a thick hand over his mouth, "I suppose so."

"Great, Gaston!" Belle cried happily. Throwing the reins into his lap, he let out a slight yelp as she clasped her hands together on her lap and squealed excitedly, "I can't wait!"

The brawny man muttered, annoyed, to himself as he clasped the reins and let them fall against the horse's back. LaRuce let out a disturbed neigh as he shook his head to remove the hair in his face and he started to trot.

Belle and Gaston were able to make it out of the crowd before the square really started to fill up with peasants, dressed up for the occasion. Belle looked behind her as the wagon slipped away, and she only turned back when they turned a corner. Settling back in her seat, she cocked her head to the side as the two moved on through an alley. Instead of the people preparing to act silly, these people were wearing their simpler clothing as they worked at their chores.

"Why aren't they celebrating the Feast of Fools?" Belle wondered.

"I dunno. Some people are too proud to be seen acting foolish in public, I suppose," Gaston replied.

"Maybe because they have more dignity than everyone else," Belle whispered to herself as they passed the few houses.

Rounding a corner, they came around to a small corner bookshop. Small and quaint, not nearly boasting the many intricate designs as many of the Parisian houses and buildings did, it was small and charming, quite what Belle was used to.

The dust on the street was thrown about as LaRuce's grey hooves clopped across it. Gaston dexterously led LaRuce into a large enough spot for the wagon to sit. Gaston pulled the reins sharply, causing Belle to wince as the bit quite literally bit into LaRuce's mouth.

"Oh, Gaston!" Belle scolded him lightly.

"What? He's just a dirty beast! He has no feelings!" Gaston pointed out, scowling as Belle leaped from the cart seat and to the head of the horse. Pulling off the bit expertly, she earnestly rubbed his neck with one hand as she smoothed down his mane with her other.

She softly cooed to the animal, whom almost sent her a horse-like smile. Turning to Gaston, she yelled loudly, "Just because he can't talk doesn't mean you should treat him like that!"

"Oh, for pete's sake, Belle, he's a stupid horse! He doesn't need kindness!" Gaston yelled back at her.

"Everyone needs kindness, Gaston, even if it is a horse!" Belle retorted.

Gaston was ready to fire back more peppery words at her when the doors of the bookshop opened. Gaston and Belle shared a look of annoyance before they both turned to see a plump middle-aged woman leaning against the doorframe.

"Can I help you on this fine day?" the woman asked cheerfully. She tugged at her apron as she slowly descended the small amount of steps to the shop and up to the horse.

"Oh, well, yes, you can," Gaston fumbled, somewhat surprised. He instantly cleared his throat and straightened up as he added suavely, "We came for an order of books."

"Oh, and what books may they be, now?" the woman's French accent added a certain twang to her voice.

"Oh, the Grimm Brothers books, are they here?" Belle asked, worried and at the same time excited.

"Oh, yeah, they be here, you came just in time, I was about to close up for the festival," the bookkeeper turned around, and lifting up her skirts, walked into the shop, Gaston and Belle trailing behind her.

In the bookshop, Belle spun around to catch everything. Unlike the small bookshop in her own town, which was light and airy, this place was smaller than it looker and was filled to the brim with books and crates.

"Follow me," the woman instructed. Belle curiously followed her as Gaston trailed behind, being careful not to disturb his perfect black hair on the low beams. Upon coming to a small brown door, the woman merely pushed it aside and the three walked in. The woman drew out a match and lit a candle, which didn't really help Belle to see anything in the room. Since there was nothing to look at besides dark and evil looking shapes, Belle merely kept her eyes on the woman as they traversed around several stacks and piles of scattered boxes.

"Ah-ha!" the bookkeeper instantly stopped, causing the unfortunate youths to stop immediately, bumping into each other. The woman paid them no mind as she circled the box she had stopped in front of.

Belle and Gaston ducked their heads as they crowded around the box. Belle stooped down and brushed aside the large amount of dust laying on the top. I wonder how long it's been sitting here, Belle thought to herself as some words became visible: Grimm contes de fées des frères.

"Yes, that's it!" Belle squealed excitedly as she sat down on the dirt ground to brush back more dirt. "Hey, can you help me carry this, Gaston?"

The man nodded and stooped to pick up the box. Wrapping his large arms around the crate, he groaned to himself as he straightened and lifted it high. Hopefully, he thought to himself, she'll get a good look of my muscles. With a grunt, he started to walk back in the way that they had come.

Belle smiled excitedly to herself as she straightened and turned to the woman, "And here is the payment."

The woman handed the candle to Belle and counted the money greedily. Chuckling excitedly at the amount agreed, she smiled and took the candle back from Belle, saying, "That'll do." Belle and the bookkeeper exchanged a smile, a quick smile for they turned to hear Gaston curse to himself and a pile of crates falling.

Weaving their way quickly to him, the woman led the two out of the labyrinth of boxes and into the still dimly lit store. Belle picked up her blue skirt and nimbly walked out the door without a problem.

She crossed the yard to LaRuce. Sighing happily, she stroked the horse's mane and then turned, yelling inquiringly, "Gaston?"

"Coming!" the hefty man grunted. Under the weight of the dense books, he slowly made his way through the doorway and slowly traversed down the steps. His left foot stumbled on a step, causing him to snarl, "Dang it!" He instantly found his footing, and started to babble gibberish to himself as he slowly made his way down the rest.

Belle and LaRuce turned from Gaston to each other with a quirky look. Gaston did like a bit strange talking gibberish while trying to balance a load of books. Slowly making his way to the cart, he managed to shout out to Belle, "See? No problem!"

I wouldn't be so sure of that, Belle thought to herself. She carefully climbed back into the cart, holding her skirts carefully, and turned in her seat to watch Gaston grunt one final time and plop the books into the wagon bed.

"Oh, Gaston," Belle said excitedly as she clasped her hands together. "Can you get a book out for me?"

Gaston took a dark brown hanker-chief from the inside of his shirt and used it to mop up the sweat he had emitted. Even though it was January, he had gotten quite soaked. Turning to Belle as he sighed contentedly to himself, "Sure, hold this." With one final wipe, he held out the large hanker-chief to her.

Groaning silently to herself at the sight of the dripping cloth, Belle gingerly held out her thumb and index finger and caught hold of the rag. Gaston turned to the wagon bed while Belle immediately plopped the hanker-chief onto the seat beside her. Gulping, she peeked around quickly for a place to put it.

Spying a small nook under the seat, she plugged her nose with one hand as she quickly hid the cloth. She instantly sat erect; reaching into the basket she had brought, she wiped her hands carefully on it.

Sighing happily to herself, she turned to see Gaston holding one of the books as if to inspect it. A hammer lay absently on the floor of the bed, and the lid had been quickly tossed aside.

Belle sighed softly to herself as she propped up her head on one of her fists. Gaston gave one final scrutinizing look at the tome, and then threw it into the wagon, not even caring where it landed. He started to nail the lid back into the crate while Belle instantly gasped and reached both arms out, hands flailing. Luckily, her right hand caught the end of the volume, and with a sigh of relief, she drew it close to her.

"Well," Gaston groaned slightly as he sat in his seat, "let's get going."

* * *

Gaston had been circling the streets of Paris for what seemed like forever. Muttering some profanity to himself, he ran a rough hand through his hair and turned to Belle. Her eyes were solely pasted to the pages full of writing. He never did understand how she could read that stuff. He knew how to read, of course, but when he tried more than a few simple sentences, the words swam around in his head.

"Hey, Belle," Gaston said to her as he brought the horse to a rough stop, "do you want to get off so I can go find a spot to put the horse?"

"Hmm?" Belle said absently. Her eyes were still connected to the book, and only when she made an effort did she look up at his face and say, "Oh, what, Gaston?"

"Do you want to get off here so I can go find a spot?"

"Um, sure. Is it safe?"

"Oh, yeah. Just get down here and I'll find you once I find a spot for this thing," Gaston explained, slowing the horse and cart down to a stop. With her book in her lap and her hands clasped together excitedly, Belle answered, "Alright!"

Once she was down, Gaston urged the horse and the two made a tippy U-turn in the narrow alley. Belle stepped out of their way and was able to dodge them as they sped back from where they had come.

Belle, book tucked under her elbow, slowly made her way around the narrow street. Careful to step over the piles of muck and filth, she found her way through the winding she stepped lightly about, she stole a look at the people now and then.

The Parisian people in this part of the city wouldn't so not alike the people of her own hometown. Instead of they being dressed up ridiculously for the event, they dressed modestly in their everyday clothes. Well, most everyone. Belle couldn't help but notice a blonde-haired man leading along a white horse. Wearing a golden suit of armor and his horse dressed with war-like decorations, he stood out a lot.

Belle watched as he turned to person to person, asking them something before sighing and bowing his head over something. Belle cocked her head to a side and walked briskly to him. Squeezing her book with both hands, she asked, "Excuse me?"

The man had been brooding over what Belle could now see was a map of Paris. His head turned up to her and a smile crossed his face as he said, "Oh, yes?"

"I couldn't help but notice that you looked like you needed some help," Belle pointed out gently.

"Oh, yeah," he laughed lightly to himself, "do you happen to know where the Palace of Justice is?"

Belle's face fell as she stroked her book and said sorrowfully, "Oh, actually, I don't. You see, this is the first time I've been to Paris."

"Oh, really? I grew up here, it's really a magnificent city. Of course," he sighed to himself, "when you leave and are gone for a while, you sometimes don't remember where everything is."

"Well, I'm sure you'll find it." Belle smiled and held out her hand brightly, "I'm Belle."

The man took her hands and gently returned the handshake she gave him, "Captain Phoebus."

"You're a captain? Wow! Why are you back in Paris?" Belle wondered.

"Well, the war's over and I'm wanted as a captain of the guard," Phoebus explained.

"Well," Belle withdrew her hand and squeezed her book to her tighter, "I hope you find the Palace of Justice."

"And I hope you enjoy the festival. Au revoir." Belle smiled and then turned to leave. She couldn't help but giggle to herself when she heard the captain start to ask another passer-by about the Palace of Justice.

Belle, seeing how the amount of people that had been walking beside her had thinned, withdrew her fairy-tale book. Rubbing a hand gently over the sleek new cover, she grinned happily as one of her slender hands flipped the book up. Biting her lip, she searched through the pages until she found the one she was looking for.

"'Briar Rose.'"

Belle was immediately mesmerized by the enthralling story. The tale of Briar Rose and how she had been bestowed eleven gifts from eleven fairies. When the twelfth fairy was about to give the young princess her gift, the thirteenth fairy, who had not been invited, stormed in and told aloud that the princess would die at the age of fifteen by the tip of a spindle.

Belle was so amazed by the story that she zoned out and forgot that there was anyone else around her. Her attention was caught, however, when she heard a lovely melody. She turned to see a man playing a brass horn, and next to him was a black-haired woman using a tambourine. Next to them, a goat with earrings on its ears jumped about to the music.

Belle tucked her book into the crook of her arm and listened to the exciting music. It was enthralling, and the two musicians were really quite good. Reaching into her apron pocket, Belle dug out a copper and tossed it into the purple hat lying on the ground. The woman gave her a grateful nod and continued with her playing.

"BELLE!" Belle heard a loud voice behind her and she hurriedly spun around to face Gaston. The man immediately wrapped a brawny arm around her and he practically pushed her forward, away from the entertaining trio.

"Gaston! What, how," Belle sputtered to herself.

"Belle, don't you know who those people are?" Gaston brought the both of them to a stop after they had gone a few hundred feet.

Belle shook her head, causing Gaston to sigh to himself and explain, "Those are gypsies. They steal and are not like other people!"

"They seemed nice to me, they weren't stealing money, they were earning it," Belle pointed out.

"Just because they weren't stealing there doesn't mean that they aren't thieves!" Gaston counteracted.

The two looked at each other, annoyed at the other. Their heads only turned away when they heard a loud horn blow in the square.

"Well," Gaston immediately brightened and folded his arms proudly, "let's go to the festival!"

"Well, alright, Gaston," Belle smiled. Tucking her book in her left elbow, she held out her other arm. Gaston grinned and linked his arm in hers, and they strode down the street to enjoy the day's festivities.

**I made it a bit more HoNT, and the people I mentioned who didn't dress up are just some of the people I saw in the film who weren't dressed up like clowns. I hope you liked it, and please, drop a review!**


	4. Topsy Turvy Day!

**DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Beauty and the Beast. I'm finally updating! Don't worry, little story, I didn't abandon you! BatB is coming out in 3D and my sister got BatB Enchanted Christmas on Christmas, and so, yeah, all is right in the world. **

The crowd of people was thick and hard to get through, but Belle was able to navigate through the crowds while having her arm crushed by Gaston's grip. The two walked on into the crowd, and Belle smiled excitedly, gazing all about her. The people in their getup were all a-giddy, all ready for the fun to begin.

Belle could spot Notre Dame's tall, bell towers, and was pleased to see that the doors weren't that far away. Maybe they could have a peek inside before the festival started.

"Gaston?" Belle let her arm slip out of his to grasp her book, which was being jarred out of her elbow from the crowd.

Gaston looked down at her and said, "Yes, Belle?"

"Do you think that we could go see the cathedral before the festival starts? It'll only take a minute-" Belle said excitedly, but Gaston quickly cut her off.

"Belle, Belle," he said slowly in his suave voice, "it's about to start and we'll miss everything!" He reached his arm out and wrapped his arm around Belle's shoulders, to her slight shock, and drew her close to him as he continued, "We'll go see the colorful windows afterwards."

Belle sighed softly to herself and said, "Alright then."

Gaston looked down at her again and said in a cheerful tone of voice, "Cheer up, Belle!" His arm swept across the crowd, "It'll be fun!"

"Okay," Belle said slowly. Suddenly the crowd around them quieted, only a few voices could be heard anxiously chatting away like gossips. Out of an alleyway came a procession. The men in the procession were wearing black robes with black hoods, covering their faces and causing a rather sober air to sweep the crowd. Belle craned her neck over the people in front of her and her ears perked up as the people started to sing together, _"__Come one, come all! Leave your loops and milking stools, coop the hens and pen the mules, come one, come all! Close the churches and the stools, it's the day for breaking rules, come and join the feast of..._

All of a sudden, out from behind the men's black robes came a spindly man, dressed in a ridiculous outfit with colors of pink, yellow and blue. He cried out excitedly as confetti flew out amongst the crowd, "Fools!" Several flags from the poles that the now smiling black-robed men had been holding fell into the wind.

Gaston grinned like a mad man as the crowd started to dance excitedly. Belle watched uncertainly, looking from one person to the other. This was her first Feast of Fools; the people in her town found it to be too much for the country folk to have their own. Belle could see why.

The man who Belle later found out was named Clopin danced about, grabbed a man's arm and twirled about, singing, _"Once a year, we throw a party here in town, once a year we turn all Paris upside down! Ev'ry man's a king and ev'ry king's a clown!" _At those lyrics, a man dressed like a king from a stack of cards did a hand spring, turning his clothes into that of a clown. Belle couldn't help but cover her mouth with one of her hands to stifle her laughter.

_"Once again, it's Topsy Turvy Day!" _Clopin managed to acquire a pair of scissors, and snipped the string off of a bunch of balloons that the same man he had twirled with were holding. Belle's face turned thoughtful as she saw the hooded man run. He seemed like he was trying to hide from something or someone, but why?

_"It's the day the devil in us gets released! It's the day we mock the prig and shock the priest! Ev'rything is topsy turvy at the Feast of Fools!" _Clopin sang as he managed to chase the hooded man into a puppet stage, in which he hit the man with a little wooden club that his puppet was holding.

_"Topsy turvy!" _the crowd shouted. Gaston looked down at Belle, who was speechless and was merely watching everything in amazement, including the dogs walking the humans on leaches.

"Sing along, Belle!" Gaston cried, wrapping an arm around her as Clopin yelled, _"Ev'rything is upsy-daisy!" _

Belle smiled and joined Gaston in singing, _"Topsy turvy!" _Gaston pulled Belle closer to avoid men who were walking around with huge masks on their heads, only they were more like pillow cases with pencil markings on them.

Clopin danced excitedly, _"Ev'ryone is acting crazy, dross is gold and weeds are a bouquet, that's the way on Topsy Turvy Day_!_"_

Belle held onto her book as tightly as she could as the crowd danced about, _"Topsy turvy!" _A man in a lobster's costume proudly walked down the square, pushing a wheelbarrow with a pot inside. In the pot sat a man in a chef's hat, and both of the costumed men were grinning wildly.

Confetti flew through the air, collecting on Belle'e hair and dress. She really couldn't understand how it stayed on her when she was being jostled about by the jolly crowd.

_"Beat the horns and blow the trumpets!" _Clopin shouted, pointing to a small stage where a trio of unamused looking musicians played the music that the people sang to.

_"Topsy turvy!" _Belle couldn't help but gasp when a few men dressed up in red outfits with huge white heads with comical expressions painted on popped their white heads. Gaston heard her and said, "Scared, Belle?" He wrapped his arm all the tighter around her, "I'll protect you."

Belle was a bit uncomfortable by him doing that and she managed to slip out of his grip as she yelled above the noise, "I'm fine."

_"Join the bums and thieves and strumpets, __streaming in from Chartes to Calais," _the crowd sang, Clopin's voice the highest as in from the same alley that the dark hooded figures had come came a prisoner's carriage. After the carriage came soldiers on thick horses, and at the head was Captain Phoebus, looking far less lost than he had been. Belle smiled as he passed by.

_"Scurvy knaves are extra scurvy on the sixth of Januervy," _Clopin sang, and the entire crowd, including Belle, who was trying to catch the Captain's eye and had nearly blocked out the singing but she was quickly reminded to at least hum along by an elbow from Gaston, _"All because of Topsy Turvy Day!"_

The Captain didn't notice her though, which she thought was alright since this was a thick crowd and it wasn't even like he was looking for her. He scanned the crowd and pointed, causing the soldiers behind him to fan out through the crowd. Belle's face screwed into a look of concern. Why was he sending out soldiers? Were they looking for somebody?

Suddenly it hit her; were they looking for the hooded man who seemed to be trying to hide from everyone? She looked over the crowd, looking for anything to give her clues, but all she could see were the crazy people dancing in couples all over the square.

Clopin clapped his hands together and sang, _"Come one, come all!" _Belle managed to see him approach a man who seemed very important. He wore a black, flowing robe and a regal purple and black hat. The way that Clopin sang about romance and mystery made the man very angry looking.

Belle leaned over to Gaston, who was looking very amused, "Who's that?"

"That's the Judge, of course, EVERYONE knows that, Belle!" Gaston said. Belle frowned. Just because she asked a question didn't mean that she needed a snarky answer.

_"Come one! Come all! See the finest girl in France, make an entrance to entrance!" _Clopin bellowed excitedly as he leaped onto the stage.

Gaston smiled and grabbed Belle's arm, making her gasp as she nearly dropped her book. He practically dragged her to the edge of the stage, for his pulling made it very hard for the teen to find her footing to walk. Once at his desired spot, Gaston let go of her arm, causing her to flail around for a moment before balancing.

"Gaston!" Belle gasped. The man instantly turned and shushed her gruffly before turning back to the stage. Belle folded her arms with a huff and watched Clopin yell to the crowd, _"Dance la Esmeralda, DANCE!" _He had something clutched in his fist, and he now threw it to the ground and suddenly, in a whiff of pink smoke disappeared from the stage and was replaced by a young woman with black hair in a red dress.

The woman twirled around a scarf, making many of the men in the crowd wolf whistle. Belle, her arms still folded, looked closely and recognized the woman to be one of the gypsies playing music in the street today. She glanced over at Gaston, who was cheering wildly at her dancing, and yelled over the crowd, "Gaston, I thought you said gypsies were thieves and not like other people!"

"I was wrong about one of them," Gaston said before he cheered yet again at the woman's dancing. Belle couldn't help but smile to herself. Gaston had a weird view on things.

Her eyes followed the woman as she dancing lightly over to the Judge, who was looking disgusted. The gypsy sat on his lap while wrapping the scarf around his neck. With a devious smile, she gave the Judge a peck on the nose and promptly pushed his hat over his eyes. Many of the crowd laughed, including Belle, who thought that the Judge's expression was priceless.

The gypsy leapt over to her stage and flounced her skirts. With a twinkle in her eye, she quickly did cartwheels and finished with a split, making the men of the crowd go wild.

Everyone watched as she quickly seized one of the soldiers' spears and plunged it into the stage. Holding on tightly, she spun around the pole, finishing with a toss of her hair and a nod to the crowd.

Everyone went wild and Clopin managed to get on the stage while the men in the crowd threw coins of approval onto the stage. Belle watched with a smirk as Gaston threw one in too, which actually earned him a wink from the gypsy.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Clopin called over the hubbub, "the piece de resistance!" The crowd cheered as Clopin sang, _"Here is it, the moment we've been waiting for, here it is, you know exactly what's in store!"_ The men in the crowd nodded eagerly. Belle looked thoughtful as she tried to figure out what was happening.

_"Now's the time we laugh until our sides get sore__, now's the time we crown the King of Fools!_" Clopin announced. He pointed out into the crowd and shouted, "You all remember last year's king?" The crowd turned to see a man in a yellow outfit with a jester's hat. He sat on a small litter and promptly belched.

_"So make a face that's horrible and frightening__, make a face as gruesome as a gargoyle's wing__, for the face that's ugliest will be the King of Fools!__"_ Clopin explained as he helped funny looking men all dressed up in weird outfits onto the stage. "Why?"

_"Topsy turvy!" _The crowd cheered. Belle started to get the concept of this and her face screwed into that of disgust. Go and choose a person who looked the ugliest their 'king'? She looked over to Gaston and said, "This is wrong!"

"What's wrong, Belle?" Gaston said in a voice as if he couldn't care what her problem was at the moment.

"Gaston! They're putting people on display for public humiliation!" Belle exclaimed, pointing to the growing assortment of candidates.

"Belle, Belle, Belle, it's all in good fun and laughs!" Gaston laughed, lightly hitting her on the arm, "it's all for fun!"

Belle sighed and watched as the singing ceased and the judging began. The gypsy went to the beginning of the line and yanked off the first man's floppy mask. The peasant made his face into that of a fish, covering his upper lip with his lower. The crowd, including Gaston, booed, and the man was knocked off the stage by a goat into a puddle of mud. Belle cringed as one by one, the men built into a pile.

The gypsy came to the last man, who Belle suddenly realized was the man wearing a hood. She could tell by his hair that stood out. The gypsy tried to yank off his mask, but the whole crowd gasped, especially Belle, when they all realized that he wasn't wearing a mask. The hideous mask that everyone had thought he had been wearing was his actual face.

The people were all horrified.

"Oh no!"

"He's hideous!"

"It's the bell ringer of Notre Dame!"

Everyone was vastly unsettled and nervous, causing Clopin to leap on stage and say, "Ladies and gentlemen, don't panic! We asked for the ugliest face in Paris, and here he is! Quasimodo." Out of thin air, Clopin presented the fool's crown, "The Hunchback of Notre Dame!"

Belle watched, horrified. What a horrid name! Just because he had a little deformity didn't mean that they had to call him that! She looked around, only to be pushed and shoved by the people who were going to see their new 'king'.

Men joined together and carried Quasimodo, who was plainly surprised and somewhat pleased, on their shoulders. Belle backed away as Clopin grabbed a pole from a clown with stilts and used it as a walking stick and he and the other people started to sing, _"Ev'rybody! Once a year we throw a party here in town! Once a year, we turn all of Paris upside down!" _Last year's king was thrown out of the litter and was replaced by Quasimodo.

The crowd continued to sing as Belle suddenly realized that Gaston wasn't beside her. He was the only person she knew in Paris, and she didn't want to be alone here among all these people. She tried to call over their voices, trying to find the man but was swept away with the crowd. Her feet fumbled as she found herself being pushed toward another stage.

Suddenly someone caught her arm, and then another her other. She gasped as her book smacked into the dirty street. Before she could reach down to try to save it, the people holding her hands pulled her into the dance with everyone else. She realized that they were all dancing in circles around the stage, acting like complete and utter lunatics.

"Gaston!" she yelled, trying to keep her voice above everyone. She only succeeded in hearing a small, "Yes?" She craned her neck to see Gaston on the opposite side of the circle, joining hands with a redhead and brunette and with a grin on his face.

She groaned to herself. He wasn't going to be much of a help getting out of this situation.

On top of the stage, she could see Clopin giving Quasimodo a scepter to go along with his cape. The feast leader sang loudly as confetti flew through the air even more thickly, _"__And pick a king who'll put the "top" in__ Topsy Turvy Day!__ Mad and crazy, upsy-daisy, Topsy Turvy Day!__"_

Once the song stopped, all the people let go of one another's hands and cheered. They started to chant "Quasimodo!" as loud as they could, throwing daisies and such at him in praise. Belle promptly wiped her hands on her dress and bent down to look for her book.

Crawling on her hands and knees amongst the great amount of legs, Belle wiped a bit of hair out of her face and looked up to see her book laying on the ground. She hastily scooped it up and stood. Her hands softly caressed the volume, her face twisted into that of horror.

The once smooth leather skeleton was cracked and wet, probably from the beer that these people had been drinking. The cover and the back had been battered and bruised from countless people stepping on it. A small tear formed at the sight of the G in Grimm, for it was there no more.

Sighing softly, Belle looked through the crowd and spotted Gaston, who while still looking manly and brawny, was abandoned by his dance partners. She picked up her skirts with one hand and weaved through the crowd until coming upon Gaston.

"Gaston, Gaston," was all that Belle was able to get out, for immediately Gaston shushed her and said, "Did you see that, Belle?"

Belle looked at him, confused. "See what?"

Gaston pointed to the stage. Belle looked first at him and then slowly followed his gaze. Her hand flew to her mouth at seeing the King of Fools covered in rotten tomato.

But it only got worst.

Another soldier (for it was the soldiers that were supposed to be protecting the people of France who were doing the assaulting), threw another tomato, and in a few seconds the entire squad had found something to throw at him.

The crowd who had first gasped now started to laugh, making Belle want to scream. How could people be so horrible?

Belle stood, shocked and mouth gaping for a moment before turning to see Gaston laughing like he had just heard the funniest joke.

Her face blew up into a pink visage of rage as she yelled at him, "Gaston! How can you laugh!"

"Because it's funny, Belle!" Gaston explained.

"It's NOT FUNNY! Gaston, you've got to do something!" Belle cried, pointing at the man on the stage. It only got even more worst when the peasants started to throw ropes on their 'king'. Her breathing started to quicken as a rope fell around his neck, the peasant on the other end practically starting to choke him.

Belle turned back to Gaston and pleaded, "Gaston, do something!"

He pretended not to hear her.

Other peasants threw rope at the man, making him yell and with one mighty swoop, he pulled all the ropes out of their owners' hands, ripping his shirt and causing the people in the crowd to gasp and laugh.

The men with the ropes decided to do this hands on. They leapt onto his back and start to tie him up, their hands moving as fast as possible.

"Gaston!" Belle cried, now close to tears.

Once the men were done, they stood up, satisfied, and with a mighty heave, brought the turntable that Quasimodo was tied to to a spin. They laughed and jeered as people from the crowd started to threw rotten food at him.

Belle watched in horror when she noticed a tomato that was launched at him was being thrown from near her. She turned, stricken, to see Gaston wiping his hands on his shirt.

Her brown eyes grew larger and the hand not clutching the book clenched into a fist. The tears in her eyes threatened to fall as she cried, "Gaston, why are being so mean to a person like that?"

Gaston smirked, "He isn't like you or I, Belle. His feelings don't matter at all."

"Yes, yes they do, Gaston. Everyone has feelings, and if you just stopped and thought about that, maybe I'd like you more!" Belle cried.

Gaston straightened, "You mean you LIKE me?"

Belle really didn't know the answer to that question. She wasn't able to give much thought to it, for suddenly a quiet gasp swept the crowd. Gaston and Belle turned to watch the gypsy woman slowly walk onto the stage. Her steps were slow, yet meaningful as she approached the bound man.

She unwrapped the purple cloth around her skirt and used it gently to wipe some of the tomato off of his face. Belle watched spellbound, as the Judge who had been sitting silent in his chair now rose and shouted angrily, "You, gypsy girl, get down at once!"

The gypsy girl stood straight up as she responded in a polite voice, "Yes, your honor. Just as soon as I free this poor creature."

The Judge's face turned even more angry as he shouted in return, "I forbid it!"

The gypsy girl looked at him with a quick look of hate as she withdrew a dagger from where it had been hidden in a band on her leg. With one mighty move, she sliced the ropes binding him. Belle gasped, somewhat amazed that of all people to do that would be as Gaston put it, "thieves and people not like us." Of course they weren't like other people; they cared more about a stranger than anyone else did.

The Judge was non-too-pleased. "How _dare _you defy ME!"

The gypsy swirled around to face the Judge in the eye as she cried, "You mistreat this boy the same way you mistreat my people! You speak of justice, yet you are cruel to those in need of your help!"

"SILENCE!" the Judge roared, his voice echoing in Belle's ears.

"JUSTICE!" the gypsy yelled back, raising her hand high in the air, raising gasps and looks of shock from the crowd. Belle was amazed; Gaston looked somewhat mad.

The gypsy helped the hunchback up as the Judge pointed a finger at her, "Mark my words, _gypsy. _You will pay for this insolence!"

The gypsy smiled as she bowed slightly. She said smoothly, yet tartly, "Then, it appears we crowned the wrong fool." She seized the jester's hat from Quasimodo's head as she yelled, "The only fool I see is YOU!" and with that, she threw the hat, which landed right by the Judge's seat.

Belle was smiling as she watched the gypsy, but the smile disappeared as she saw the Judge say something to Captain Phoebus, who had taken his spot by the Judge. The Captain nodded and snapped his fingers, signaling his soldiers to fall in on the stage where the gypsy stood.

Belle heard the gypsy count silently to herself. The gypsy nodded slightly and pulled out a hankerchief and started to cry. Belle was sure that this would not end well.

**Sorry for the long wait and for the cliffhanger, though you all know what happens to Esmeralda (she is definitely one of my favorite Disney characters. She's kind and brave and she stands up for what's right and she's friends with Quasi, who's one of my favorites too, and so it's a bit disheartening typing about how people are so cruel to him). **

**Hopefully it wasn't TOO THoND and too little BatB. I hope you liked it and please review! :)  
**


	5. The Cathedral

**DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Beauty and the Beast or the Hunchback of Notre Dame. By the way, I'M NOT DEAD. Just to let y'all know. GUYS, THIS IS THE LAST CHAPPIE! *Will be followed by brief epilogue* I was thinking if this was a crossover or not, and as of the first few chapters, it's been mostly BatB but with the addition of this chapter, I'll go stick this puppy into the crossover section. Here we go!**

Belle looked anxiously from Gaston to the crying gypsy on stage. She bit her lip, trying to figure out a way to help. She was about to ask Gaston to do something (which he probably wouldn't do, do to his amusement at this new entertainment), when the gypsy sneezed into her handkerchief, creating a large pink cloud of smoke.

Belle coughed and waved her hand in front of her face to clear the smoke. Flinging back her hair so that she could see, she looked back to the now empty stage. She let out a gasp, covering her mouth, and looked over to see Gaston muttering under his breath, "What the devil did she do?"

Belle heard the Judge by his stage hiss, "Witchcraft!" Belle looked from the Judge back to the stage with a confused look. The soldiers who had just been throwing rotten vegetables were advancing on a table, where the gypsy was revealed to be hiding. She leapt out of their way into the crowd, where everyone sent her and her goat sailing away from the soldiers.

"Gaston, what do we do?" Belle turned to the red-shirted man. She wasn't sure how he was going to react to all this. She frowned silently and rolled her eyes when she saw him wolf whistle and his fists pumping, yelling, "Yeah!"

Belle turned back to the crowd, flicking a piece of hair out of her way. The gypsy girl, accompanied by her goat, were running about the crowd, avoiding all the soldiers. The crowd cheered her on as she kicked two in the face as she hung onto a medieval torture device of circular shape. Standing on it and keeping her balance, she quickly went downhill, and jumped onto a small little board with wheels on it. She maneuvered it along the street, the soldiers still chasing after her.

A large jester on stilts stopped several soldiers by kicking them, sending them to the ground when the torture device knocked them over.

The gypsy leapt about gracefully toward the magnificent cathedral, avoiding the guards and wowing the crowd, especially Gaston, who Belle couldn't help but notice was cheering the loudest, his voice booming and thundering over everyone else's. She rolled her eyes with a slight smile. She felt like cheering her on as well.

The soldiers were closing in on the gypsy and her goat. The gypsy noticed and leapt up to pull down the pants off of a jester on stilts. She plowed on through toward the cathedral; as did the soldiers, but they quickly ran into the large pair of pants, making them bounce back to where they came. Gaston cheered loudly as the soldiers fell into a cart filled with chickens and hay.

The gypsy smiled at all the applause and threw the helmet that had landed on her at a fleet of three soldiers, knocking them all off their horses and nearly smacking Captain Phoebus in the neck.

The gypsy started running again when two more soldiers on horseback came plowing at her. She passed under a jester on stilts, who in turn toss the two soldiers a long pole. They both caught it and holding it between them, they ran right through the booth where the Judge was sitting. Belle gasped as pieces of wood and cloth fell like confetti onto the crowd.

"Isn't this great, Belle? Only Paris has this kind of entertainment!" Gaston yelled as he grabbed her by the shoulder and gave her a squeeze. Do to his good grip and the tightness of the crowd, Belle smiled uneasily as she slipped out of his grip. Gaston chose to ignore her trying to escape him and turned back to cheer with everyone else when the two jesters lifted the gypsy up onto the roof of the stage for everyone to see.

Everyone clapped and cheered, roaring like the appreciative crowd they were. The gypsy girl smiled and bowed and stood up with a twirl of a scarlet blanket, making her disappear. The crowd then clapped more, Belle included. She smiled at the performance but instantly stopped clapping when suddenly the sky grew dark and grey. The sun disappeared and the sky became gray.

Gaston, for the first time in five minutes, stopped clapping, as did everyone else. They all turned to see the Judge emerge from the wreckage of his booth. He fumed with rage as he slapped on his hat and turned to the stage where Quasimodo stood, still dripping with tomato juice.

Belle frowned as the Judge mounted his horse and she heard him say to his captain, "Find the gypsy girl, and bring her back alive."

Captain Phoebus nodded, saying, "Yes, sir." The Judge nodded a quick, curt nod and Phoebus called out to all his soldiers, "Men, seal off the area. Find the gypsy girl and do not harm her!" The soldiers instantly started to go through the crowd, pushing people out of the way. Belle gasped as she found herself being pushed away against Gaston, who was looking over the crowd with a poker face.

The gray sky let out drops of rain, which started to soak the people. The Judge was riding by the stage and gave the hunchback of a look that Belle could tell was pure malice. They exchanged a few words before the Judge rode away and Quasimodo jumped off the stage. The crowd in front of him all gasped and backed away. Belle and Gaston were near the stage, and Gaston pushed her back as Quasimodo, trying to cover his face as well as he could, hurried back in the cathedral.

The people finally decided that it was time to get out of the rain and they all ran out to their homes, arms over their heads as a form of protection. They cleared out within two minutes, leaving Gaston and Belle standing in the rain.

"You know, Belle," Gaston said as he put an arm around her shoulders, "I know a great place for lunch. Called the Blind Bottle. Great little pub, great food, liquor, bar maids."

Belle sighed. She would do most anything right now to get out of this rain. "Alright, let's go then."

"Alright then!" Gaston said excitedly as he led them hurriedly through the rain.

Belle looked down at her book once they had found some roof to hide under as they walked. The covering had been soaked from the fat drops of rain, making the pages underneath wrinkly, crinkly and flexible. Belle regarded this sadly as Gaston took his arm off of her to open the door to the Blind Bottle. She flipped through it slowly as they went in, not even noticing the large crowd that had congregated after the festival, the pages flopping as she turned them.

Gaston noticed her fawning over the book and instantly made a grab for it. Belle gasped and looked back at Gaston with an angry look and said, "Gaston, give that back!"

"Why? It's just a little book," Gaston pointed out as he held the book high out of her reach.

"It's my book and it's very delicate!" Belle told him.

The barkeeper came to Belle's rescue when he looked up from the glass he was rubbing and called, "Gaston! A beer?"

Gaston smiled and, dropping the book, to Belle's horror, hurried up to the bar and sat down on one of the stools. Belle grabbed the book as carefully as she could and straightened, looking about the bar. Throwing Gaston an angry look, she decided to take the seat next to him.

She sighed over her book and pushed it aside for a moment as she propped her head in her hands on the counter and sighed again.

The barkeeper noticed her and decided not to bother her as he handed Gaston a large mug of beer.

"Thanks," Gaston said as he tipped the mug to let the foamy liquid pour down his gullet. He sighed contentedly and planted the mug into the counter before turning back to Belle, asking her, "You look like you need something strong. Whiskey?"

Belle hmmed before straightening up and saying, "I'll just have a water, thanks."

"Leon, a water!" Gaston called. The barkeeper nodded and returned with a glass. Belle accepted it and finished it all in one shot. She put the glass gently down on the counter, and turned to see Gaston looking, asking, "Are you sure you don't want something else?"

"No, I'm alright. I don't drink," Belle told him. Gaston shrugged and ordered them meals. Belle didn't seem to notice when they arrived that they were swimming in pools of grease. She ate automatically while still watching Gaston, who went on to shove the food down his throat as fast as he could.

"Are-are you alright?" she asked him as he put his plate down. He had been holding it up to his lips.

"Of course I am, Belle. Thought that a bit of overcooked stew would kill me?" he laughed. He wiped his lip with his brawny arm and ordered another beer. Belle watched as the barkeeper handed it to him and the two men started to get into a conversation.

Belle bit her lip. Who knows how long this was going to last. She looked longingly toward the door. It was just a short walk over to the cathedral. She could go right now. Gaston wouldn't want to go. She could go and check it out and she could meet him back here when it was time to leave.

She looked back to Gaston, who was once again wiping at his mouth.

"Gaston," she said, quickly flinching when he flicked a bit of foam near her. "Thanks for lunch. Do you want to go to the cathedral now? If not, I can go by myself."

Gaston shrugged his shoulders and turned back to the barman. "Oh, heck, why not? We'll head back when the rain stops."

Belle smiled and rose, saying, "Alright, Gaston," and she grabbed her book and headed across the room and out the door.

She peeked outside to see the weather lightening up somewhat. Tucking her book under her arm, she made her way over to the cathedral, avoiding the people still skulking in the background, waiting for the rain to let up. She managed to get to the door without getting soaked.

All around the building was stationed soldiers, who all looked at her with squinted eyes. She gave them a little wave and slipped through the front doors.

The door behind her closed with a loud clunk, but she didn't care. She turned back and wiped the hair out of her face and sighed in awe. The cathedral was huge, with large, foreboding walls. There was large stands with lit candles, giving light to the building. Up ahead was several hundred benches.

Belle slowly made her way forward, looking about in amazement. She nearly walked into a bench before realizing and gently slid into the seat. Sitting the book down beside her, she looked back up to see the brightly colored stained glass windows. The windows were very tall, and covered several dozen feet.

All in front of her were people, praying and kneeling. Belle looked back up and drank in the magnificence of the artistry.

"Excuse me, my child," she heard a voice say. She turned to see the Archdeacon, a kind looking man in red and white robes. "Enjoying the beauty of the cathedral?"

"Oh, yes, it's beautiful," Belle breathed.

"Yes, it is. It's a sanctuary for many who want to escape the world and its people," the Archdeacon sighed as he patted the bench. "Enjoy it, child."

"I-I will, sir," Belle said. She smiled and the Archdeacon returned it before going back to his work.

And at that moment, Belle heard a voice, a lovely voice, singing. She turned to see the gyspy girl and her goat walking along the chapel, singing quietly. Belle looked around and saw other people, all those on their knees and repenting, singing along.

She watched them for a moment, listening. They were asking God to help the outcasts, those different from everyone else. She sighed and looked down at her feet, saying quietly, "God help us all."

And a moment later, the singing stopped, and she heard someone yell, "You! Bell ringer! What are you doing down here?"

She instantly turned. The bell ringer. Quasimodo. She wanted to talk to him, apologize for how everyone treated him today.

Belle saw him shirking in the shadows of the chapel, but he had knocked over one of the candles, making a loud noise. People hurried over to him from the pews, their eyes accusatory.

He gasped, and he quickly ran from where he had been hiding. Belle instantly stood up when she saw him run up a staircase. She was going to go after him. The gypsy had the same idea, for she raced after Quasimodo and up the stairs.

Belle quickly grabbed her book and looked up to see Gaston watching her.

She gasped in surprise and then sighed as she tucked her book under her arm and she started to walk away.

"Belle! Where are you going?" Gaston wondered as he followed her. She made her way as quickly as she could to the staircase. Gaston followed her, asking, "What are you doing?"

Belle whirled around to face him. "The man that was publicly humiliated today just went up there, and I want to go apologize to him for everything that happened to him, all that sick cruelty!" And she turned to see the Archdeacon blocked the way to the stairs.

"Father, please let me through," she pleaded.

The Archdeacon sighed sadly as he folded his hands. "I'm sorry, my child, but no one is allowed up there."

"I just want to talk to the bell ringer," she told him.

"I'm sorry, but I am respecting the wishes of Judge Frollo, for it is his wish to not let anyone up there," the Archdeacon told her solemnly.

Belle frowned, realizing that the Archdeacon was talking about the Judge at the festival. She wondered why he wanted Quasimodo to stay up there, hidden away. She was about to speak again when the Archdeacon put a hand up, making her sigh and turn to Gaston.

"What are we going to do now?" she asked him.

"Well, the festival's over and we got the books. I've hung out at the bar and you got to see this chapel. We should probably go home," Gaston said as he laid his arm (once again) on her shoulders and pulled her closer. Belle just sighed and allowed him to lead her through the doors, through Paris to where LaRue was waiting with the books and cart.

They boarded the cart and made their way through the streets of Paris. Gaston talked animatedly, but Belle barely listened. So far that day they had picked up a bunch of books and the one she got was torn apart, seen a man get humiliated publicly and seen him hide away, never showing his face.

The only reason Belle could think of of why he was hiding was because of his hunch, which was really wasn't that bad at all. She sighed and cupped her head in her hand and half-listened to Gaston as they made their way back. What a day in Paris.

**All right, guys! Sorry for basically being dead to the world these couple of weeks. Hopefully I'll keep writing more and more. Thanks for reading!  
**


	6. The Epiclogue

**DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Beauty and the Beast or the Hunchback of Notre Dame. HERE'S THE EPICLOGUE. I know, I misspelled it, BUT I DON'T REALLY CARE. IT FITS. **

Gaston took her home, told her good night, exclaimed over the day they had. Belle merely nodded politely and walked inside. She was effected more than he had been, apparently.

She passed her father and he asked, "How did it go?"

She sighed, shrugged, and tossed the ruined book onto the dinner table. "I'd rather not talk about it," she said softly. Her father nodded understandingly.

When Belle went upstairs for the night, she made a silent vow to herself to be as nice as she could to people that other people considered ugly, deformed or an outcast, for she realized that she couldn't stand the thought anymore of people being so cruel toward others.

As she went through her ordeal and relationship with Beast, she kept all this in mind, being as kind and patient as she was with everyone else. He noticed, and they fell in love.

One day, many years later, she and Beast and their five little children went to Paris for a family vacation. Beast had had a bit of a time convincing her that was a good place to go to. She still had those memories of Quasimodo getting pelted with tomatoes, but when her little Henri, Nicolette, Guinevere, Nanny and Francois pleaded to see the cathedral, she remembered how much she had wanted to go there, and when Guinevere and Henri wanted to get books, she relented.

They went on Topsy-Turvy Day. The books they picked up were bright and clean, and somehow stayed that way all day. The parade of fools was glorious, for there was far more gypsies this year, and more gypsies meant more energy and fun. What was something that Belle noticed was she recognized Esmeralda dancing among the partiers while chasing a little boy.

She smiled and looked over to where the Judge's seat was. In what had been Judge Frollo's place, she saw Phoebus sitting on the throne, his legs tapping to the beat of the music. The person next to him made her gasp. It was Quasimodo, dressed quite ridiculously, but he was enjoying himself, clapping along to the music.

She later learned the whole story about Judge Frollo and Quasimodo from a man named Clopin who they sat next to when they broke out the family picnic. She kept looking toward Quasimodo and thought that he looked a bit lonely on the stage. That feeling was influenced by the years past of course, and nothing that day made her happier than to see a blonde haired women come up to him, place her arm around him and kiss him on the cheek. As long as he felt love and was no longer ridiculed, Belle thought, I can live my life out in peace knowing that.

The family came back to Topsy-Turvy Day every year after that, and Belle always looked out for the bell ringer of Notre Dame, clapping happily on the Judge's stage.

_**Fin. **_

**Viola, she is FINISHED. I seriously hope you liked this, for I was just taking a plot bunny and running with it. Merci!**


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